Lille, France: Support action to the blocking of Nantes’ ring-road
At this very moment in Lille [Saturday 9th January] a day/evening is being held of support to the ZAD of Notre Dame des Landes and the inhabitants that face trial this Wednesday 13th January. More than 100 people gathered in the General Assembly decided to show their support to Nantes protesters that are currently blocking Cheviré bridge. [Read More]
The entirety of the anti-airport movement, with all its organizations and collectives, prepared the demo of January 9th in less than ten days. It was needed to demand the immediate abandon of the eviction trial initiated December 7th and re-scheduled for January 13th by AGO (airport conglomerate)/VINCI (contractor) in the name of the State. The eviction process concerns 4 farms and 11 family homes…
We would like to thank the farmers who came with their tractors, more than 450, to yell the rage of the world of small farmers. These eviction threats, which don’t even respect the winter truce (evictions are normally forbidden in the winter months- until march, because it’s cruel), with threats to seize land, property, and livestock, with exorbitant daily fees if they stay, are unprecedented, and intolerable. We would like to thank the more than 20,000 people who came, on bike or on foot, to bring their support to the residents and farmers. [Read More]
400 tractors, 1,000 cyclists and 20,000 marchers turned up on the ring road on the periphery of Nantes to protest the Notre-Dame-Des-Landes (NDDL) proposed airport, and support the ZAD ongoing occupation.
Protesters argue that building a new international airport is a climate crime, adding to and encouraging flight carbon emissions.
But also it turns productive agricultural land into non-productive fields, tarmac and terminals, while also endangering biodiversity and the habitat of 130 protected species. Surveys of the site have identified at least five legally protected species that have not been taken into account by the project records made available to the investigation and related prefectural orders. [Read More]
In the evening of Sunday, January 10th 2016, we occupied the empty building on Themistokleous St. 58, in Exarchia, Athens. The intention is to open up a place where migrants who are blocked here in Greece, because of the European migration policies, can live and self-organize free from state control. We are a group of individuals from different places and of different contexts, connected through the fight against States, nations, borders, lager, prisons, capitalism; eventually against every part of this rotten system of domination that oppresses us. We are open to anyone who agrees with our basic principles and wants to participate in the project without a hidden political agenda.
This squat isn’t meant to be a public service. We aren’t “volunteers” and we don’t see migrants as victims. One of the challenges of this project will be to overcome in practice the separation imposed on us by borders and citizenship. This house seeks to become a place where people organize themselves and learn from one another mutually, regardless of their origins. [Read More]
Eviction of Autonoom Centrum in The Hague is getting closer. The AC lost a long legal procedure in which the judge declared that AC can be evicted beginning January 30th. After the verdict, AC went into discussions with the owner of the building in order to reach an agreement, but the conversation went nowhere. It looks like AC will be evicted at the end of this month.
Last summer, we received a letter stating that we have to vacate the premises by 30 January 2016. This letter did not come from the building’s owner, but from the renter. This requires further explanation; the building which AC occupies is property of Pubstone BV, a company that owns many bars. Pubstone BV rents the building to InBev, the largest beer brewer in the world, worth billions. Inbev subsequently rented the building to a pub operator. Even when the building was abandoned and when it was squatted in 2010, InBev continued renting the building. InBev terminated its rental agreement and must in their own words hand the building over empty to Pubstone. Afterwords, InBev’s lawyers sent us a letter saying that we have to vacate the premises by January 30 2016. We did not agree to these terms and filed a lawsuit. The judge ruled in favor of InBev, despite the fact that the building would again stand vacant after the eviction and the verdict was that AC can be evicted from 30 Janaury 2016. [Read More]
Photos from yesterday’s solidarity demonstration that was organized by the migrants housing squat Orfanotrofio in the neighborhood of Toumba (Thessaloniki – Greece).
Why did the date of the call-out get moved forward?
Initially we announced a big mobilisation to take place on 16th January without knowing if Vinci and the governement would have the outrageous audacity to restart the procedure for an immediate eviction of the inhabitants and farmers of the ZAD, in the middle of January. We found out that they will be taken to court again on 13th January. That’s why we decided to move the date of the demonstration to 9th January and to double our determination.
Why is it crucial to take part in this demonstration?
The trial on 13th January is an unprecedented attack against the resisting inhabitants and farmers of the ZAD. It’s an attack in the same style as the attacks in autumn 2012, though it won’t be through a police intervention, at least not for now. AGO-Vinci is desperate to see the official locals leave, threatening them with immediate eviction, seizure of their property and their livestock, and sentencing them to exorbitant daily fines. [Read More]
Film, snacks, literature, discussion, pizza, bar, concert.
January 9th 2016 from 3pm at La Ferblanterie
(15 Rue Abélard, Lille, Metro: Porte d’Arras)
Excerpt: For a few months the government has announced its wish, to resume airport works involving the eviction of its inhabitants; destruction of the grove, its cultures and protected species. This is why, following a ZAD call-out to re-establish support committees throughout France, around forty people gathered in Lille on November 25th 2015 to sketch out a new committee. [Read More]
We had the opportunity of making an interview with two activists of the occupied and self-organized refugee center Notara26 in Athens, Greece. The comrades tell us about the origins and ideas of their center as well as of the anarchist influence and importance of the Exarchia neighborhood. They also comment on the topic of governmental (Syriza) policies and the difference of their work to such policies. And they also mention problems encountered in this project.
Some more interviews with anarchist organizations and anarchist projects will follow soon as part of our new series on anarchism and social struggles in the Mediterranean. This is part is on the occupied refugee center Notara26 in Athens, Greece.
Length: 12:36 min
You can download the audio at: archive.org (wav | mp3 | ogg).
Here you can listen to it directly:
[Read More]
By Some London Foxes.
This is a small contribution towards mapping the terrain of social conflict in London today.
First, it identifies some big themes in how London is being reshaped, looking at: London’s key role as a “global hub” for international finance capital; how this feeds into patterns of power and development in the city; and the effect on the ground in terms of two kinds of “social cleansing” – cleaning out undesirable people, and sanitising the social environment that remains.
Second, it surveys recent resistance and rebellion to this pattern of control including the short-lived “grassroots housing movement” of last winter, the confrontational Aylesbury Estate occupation, anti-raids mini-riots, and some riotous street parties. [Read More]
On 26th December we visited the Orfanotrofio Squat in Thessaloniki’s Toumba district. A place that was squatted and is now administrated by refugees and the “Anti-authoritarian Space” [1] as well as other active people from Thessaloniki.
About the history
The plan to collectively organize a project like this emerged in September 2015. Connections and contacts between refugees and activists from Thessaloniki were established through the “No border kitchen” in Eidomeni. Together opportunities for meeting and living spaces were sought. Because the border closed three weeks ago (see also part 2 of our report) the creation of a self-organized space got necessary. For many people it became obvious that immediate action was inevitable. Consequently refugees that were rejected at the Macedonian border squatted together with people of the „Anti-authoritarian Space“, the so called ‘Orfanotrofio’. The church owned property was already squatted once in 2013.Three weeks ago, priests together with the cops, threatened to evict the place which did not happen yet. An anarchist comrade estimates the situation right now to be relatively relaxed. According to her, the cops have no reason to evict the place, because there seems to be no apparent political perspective nor will to create spaces for refugees and other socially marginalized groups. Nevertheless, it remains a squatted place and therefore is never absolutely safe. [Read More]
ATTENTION! Change of date
General mobilisation of opponents to the airport project the 9th January, following the announcement of the hearing for the 13/01/2016 to evict historical inhabitants and peasants.
After the ‘adjourned’ trial of December 10th aimed at evicting the historical inhabitants, and within a climate of announcing evictions and resuming work early 2016, let’s show Vinci and the state that we won’t let them do so.
The movement against the airport calls for a massive day of action on Saturday 9th January. [Read More]
